‘Sound Ancestors’ by Madlib Review: Turning Bite-Size Samples Into a Full Meal

When producers who make new music by sampling previous music are particularly prolific, their discographies can simply turn into overwhelming. Neglect costly studios and paying musicians: A big report assortment and a easy recording setup are all they want when inspiration strikes.

The 47-year-old beat-maker and erstwhile rapper Madlib, born

Otis Jackson Jr.

, is such an artist. He’s been energetic for over 20 years, and his productions vary from high-profile singles for stars—he co-produced Kanye West’s 2016 observe “No Extra Events in L.A.” and has labored with

Snoop Dogg

and

Erykah Badu

—to low-key choices just like the eight-volume “Beat Konducta” sequence, on which he pays tribute to music starting from Bollywood soundtracks to West African funk from the Nineteen Seventies. Although he adapts his work to suit every undertaking, his core aesthetic is at all times current, specializing in hazy, head-nodding beats culled from a half-century of soul, jazz, rock and various kinds from across the globe. He’s launched dozens of albums as a solo artist and collaborator, so it’s laborious to know the place to start.

Right here’s a suggestion for these questioning: Begin with the brand new Madlib album, “Sound Ancestors” (Madlib Invazion), out now, which Mr. Jackson created in collaboration with

Kieran Hebden,

the producer who makes digital music as 4 Tet. The tracks on the LP, constructed from each samples and unique instrumentals, are solely Mr. Jackson’s, however Mr. Hebden is credited with modifying, association and mastering. Basically, he pored by a whole lot of Mr. Jackson’s tracks in various states of completion, and he condensed this bounty into 16 fleshed-out items that zoom by in a crisp 41 minutes.

This isn’t the primary time that Mr. Hebden has primarily served as a listener and editor on one other artist’s undertaking. In 2007 he labored with the avant-garde improvising outfit Sunburned Hand of the Man, compiling numerous jams into a pointy and centered LP, “Fireplace Escape,” that stands out among the many group’s dozens of releases. He’s overseen free jazz albums by

Steve Reid,

Syrian dance music by vocalist

Omar Souleyman,

and experimental R&B by singer

Neneh Cherry.

In every case, he places the aesthetics of his personal work apart and focuses on what makes the artist in query particular, amplifying these qualities in post-production.

On this report, meaning discovering the bedrock grooves that outline Madlib and ranging the feel and construction so {that a} easy hypnotic loop turns right into a various composition. After the transient opening observe, “There Is No Time (Prelude),” the album takes flight with “The Name,” which samples the ’60s Australian band the Twilights. The unique observe by the band sounds basically like British Invasion guitar-pop, however in Mr. Jackson’s palms these textures turn into a stomping, psychedelic, dance-ready observe that’s undeniably hip-hop. “Street of the Lonely Ones” takes a mournful vocal pattern from the Philly soul outfit the Ethics and units it towards a crisp syncopated drum sample. The grain of the voices hints on the unhappiness of loss, whereas the drive of the beat suggests defiance and resilience, and this distinction is emblematic of the album’s emotional complexity.

None of those tracks make you want there was somebody rapping over them, and so they don’t have anything like standard verses and choruses. Relatively, every observe is a form of sonic aquarium the place parts rise and fall, effervescent up for a second of admiration earlier than sinking again into silence. On “Riddim Chant,” fleeting textures embody numerous bells and chimes, a guitar line, and a buzzing keyboard half that provides punctuation. When listening, you may soak up the entire or take note of how a single instrument modifications over the course of the piece, and every technique has its personal rewards.

“Hold Out (Telephone Off),” one other spotlight, options each acoustic and electrical piano combined with a sampled voice intoning “spend slightly time,” which creates a dreamy, contemplative impact, however the quieter devices are undergirded by a tumble of drums and a twangy bass, evoking dance music and bringing consideration again to the physique. The next “Two for two—For Dilla” pays homage to legendary Detroit producer

J Dilla,

one in every of Mr. Jackson’s contemporaries, who died in 2006 (the producers teamed for a superb collaborative album in 2003 below the identify Jaylib). It begins with an ominous soul pattern with voices pleading “We obtained to get it collectively / Earlier than it’s too late” and progressively folds in a swell of horns till it turns into a heat and superb quantity that radiates optimism.

The closing observe, “Duumbiyay,” gives one ultimate fusion of fragments that congeal into one thing wondrous and sudden. The sampled chant of what might be a toddler is positioned towards tapping drums and a cymbal-heavy pulse borrowed from jazz. In one other’s palms this busy cluster of sounds may come throughout as overly dense and even random, however right here it’s as pure as respiration. Like “Sound Ancestors” as an entire, it’s a testomony to the facility of deep listening, revealing the brand new musical modes current in each fragment of a report, which artists like Mr. Jackson and Mr. Hebden might help you hear.

—Mr. Richardson is the Journal’s rock and pop music critic. Observe him on Twitter @MarkRichardson.